What is the legal or official term to describe what someone is doing when they “ghost write” for another?
John S. asked:
Person A writes a document from the point of view of Person B who reviews it, approves it, and signs it as if they originated the document themselves and this is their testimony.
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Person A writes a document from the point of view of Person B who reviews it, approves it, and signs it as if they originated the document themselves and this is their testimony.
In literary circles, that is “ghost writing” for someone. But in legal or business circles, is there a word for it (perhaps in Latin?) that is less colloquial or vernacular-oriented than “ghost writing” which brings to mind novels and scripts versus legal or business documents.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 am
I don’t know if there is a specific term, but you could simply say, “written by _____ and approved by___________The term ghost writing would generally apply to literature only, but is not necessarily called that. I’ve never seen a book title that says, “ghost-written by____” But I have seen the actual writer’s name, and “as told to by______, the author, or in some instances there is collaboration by two authors. gldjns
November 26th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Actually, the form would simply be an affidavit. It is not uncommon for an attorney to prepare a document for a client, or an investigator to prepare a statement for a witness to sign.
This really does not fall under the category of ghost writing, because Person B (your example) is attesting to the accuracy of what is written.
In literary circles, a ghost writer gathers information from the source, and has a bit of freedom of expression that would not exist in the legal environment.
I don’t know of a particular term to describe someone who composes such a statement, but they would already have a title, such as paralegal, officer, or attorney.
Good luck! Randall Parker, MBA